Creature Feature #409: Lark

Larks are small-to-medium-sized passerines, characterised by their relatively dull, cryptic colouration and trilling song. Terrestrial in nature, Larks spend much of their time foraging in the grass for seeds and occasionally insects. His rear claw is longer than that of most birds, increasing his stability. To defend his territory, the male Lark soars directly upwards in a display flight, trilling his melodious call.

This fellow is a Sidamo Lark, a species with a very restricted range within Ethiopa (about 36 square kms) and under heavy threat from agriculture. Due to nest predation of the females, the population is heavily skewed towards males. It is classified as critically endangered, with probably less than 256 adult birds surviving.

Creature Feature #408: Lapwing

Lapwings are crested members of the Plover family. There are a number of different species, spread across the world. This fellow is the only crested plover found in South America. He has benefited from the transformation of forests into grasslands, as it provides him with plenty of territory upon which to forage. His favoured diet is insects and other invertebrates. These he hunts using a wait-and-run technique and much of his foraging is done at night.

Here's his ZooTrophy card. These things are addictive to make - here's hoping they will also prove fun to collect!

(He's a dual waterways/grasslands.)

Creature Feature #407: Langur (or rather, Lutung)

Langur, also known as leaf monkeys or lutungs, are a subfamily of monkeys spread across Asia. In habit they are diurnal, folivores (dine on leaves) and gregarious. Whilst some species - like the grey langur - are common and interact readily with humans, others such as the golden-headed langur or this Francois' Langur are endangered. As their diet is high in fibrous materials, but low in energy, Langur (or Lutung) have a multi-chambered stomach - more akin to that found in ungulates. Family groups mostly consist of a male and his harem of females and their offspring. If a new male takes over the harem, he will likely kill any infants.

You can tell this fellow is actually in the Lutung genera, on account of his very fine quiff.

And, here's his ZooTrophy card:

Creature Feature #406: Lancetfish

The Lancetfish is a large, pelagic fish inhabiting every ocean except the polar seas. They are predatory in nature, with relatively poor muscle tone that indicates they ambush their prey.  Investigations of their stomachs have found traces of crustaceans, squid as well as other fish - including other lancetfish. Little is known about their reproduction, but juveniles are repoted to be hermaphrodites, suggesting that gender may come as they mature. They are frequently trawled up as bycatch but their meat is watery and undesirable.

(Least concern)

Creature Feature#405: Lamprey

Despite his reputation, not all species of Lamprey are blood-sucking parasites. This one, the Sea Lamprey however, is. Lamprey are primitive, jawless fish, who instead of a mouth are equipped with a tooth-rimmed suction-cup and a sharp tongue. Once he locates an appropriate host, he latches on and begins to scrape away at the skin with his tongue and teeth. He secretes a substance that prevents the host's blood from clotting and it will eventually succumb to infection, if it doesn't die of blood-loss first. This fish spends his early days in freshwater, moving into lakes or a marine environment to feed parasitically for a year, before returning to the river to spawn and die.

Creature Feature #404: Lammergeier

The Lammergeier, or Bearded Vulture, is found in the high country across southern Europe, Africa and India. She typically is found above the tree line. Her diet is carrion, although she favours bone marrow over flesh - the only bird species specialised for this diet. Her digestive system quickly digests the bone and she can crush pieces up to the size of a lamb's femur. Larger pieces are carried up into the air, then dropped onto the rocks until they splinter and crack open, allowing her access to the somewhat juicier interior. This is a learned behaviour, and it can take her seven years to master it.

Creature Feature #403: Ladybird

There numerous species of Ladybird - over 5000 -  found all over the world. Most are characterised by their colourful elytron (wing covers) which in many species are spotted. Some species are vegetarian, and have become something of a pest in agriculture, but most species favour a carnivorous diet with a particular fondness for destructive insects such as aphids.  As such, they are generally regarded as the gardener's friend. Although, introduced Harlequin Ladybirds are currently engaged in a full-on invasion of the United Kingdom, where they are spreading at a rapid rate and out-competing their native species.

Creature Feature #402: Lacewing

Lacewings are small insects named for their delicate wings, which are cross-veined and resemble lace. She is nocturnal or crepscular in nature and feeds on pollen, nectar and honeydew, as well as the occasional tiny arthropod. When handled, some species will release a vile stench from their prothoracal glands. This has earned her the name "stinkfly". The spiny nature of the larvae attracts grime and sand, providing the juvenile with an element of camouflage.  Larvae are voracious predators, attacking any arthropod of appropriate size and even biting humans. To feed, she injects her prey with venom, liquifying its insides and allowing them to be sucked out.

Creature Feature #401: Feral Cat

Today's critter is more-or-less by popular request, and also because I needed an "invasive pest" to introduce into the forest portion of my TCG. Hence why we are dropping out of the alphabet, temporarily.

A Feral Cat is not just a domestic cat that is living wild, and it is not a stray - when a cat truly "goes feral" she is like an actual wild animal. She has never been socialised with humans. This probably means that her ancestors were strays. Feral Cats can be found in urban environments, as well as woodlands, temperate forests and open countries - anywhere there is relevant prey. Whilst in urban areas and some suburban, she can do little harm, it is isolated habitats that suffer the most impact from her introduction. Many islands are home to birds and small mammals, but may lack in mammalian predators, and for these the addition of this feline - an apex predator - spelled disaster. The extinction of six New Zealand bird species can be attributed to cats. The most well known of which is the Stephen Islands Wren. A tiny bird, almost flightless, and the entire population lived on one small island. There are tales that suggest one cat was responsible, but it is more likely that it was a plague of feral cats, some related to the lighthouse keeper's cat who was probably not called Tibbles) or otherwise dumped on the island. Within a few months the birds were gone.

Domestic cats are interesting in that they are one of the few sociable cat species. Unlike their ancestors, the European wild cat, they will share territory, although unneutered males will fight for dominance. A colony of cats is called a clowder. In some countries, like New Zealand and Australia (where the felines have had a detrimental impact on native mammals) there is talk of banning cats, and hunting ferals is encouraged. However, many people adore our feline companions, even the ones that utterly shun human contact, and the idea of killing cats is anathema. Some countries, including New Zealand, run a trap-neuter-release program, in which ferals are captured, neutered and then returned to their initial habitat. This means that the cat can no longer breed, but can still kill millions of birds, reptiles and bats before eventually sucuumbing to disease, injury or death-by-auto. Sometimes feeding stations are set up in which volunteers feed the half-starved felines. Needless to say, there is a lot of controversy surrounding such projects.

Creature Feature #400: Kusimanse

Today is the 400th "Animal a Day"! How exciting is that? It is also the last of the Ks. Tomorrow we have a special random entry and then on tuesday the 25th, one month from Christmas, the Ls shall begin.

Meanwhile, here's a dwarf mongoose:

This is the Kusimanse, one of several Dwarf Mongoose species. He is a diurnal forager and an excellent digger, hunting for insects, rodents, crustaceans and other small prey.  Groups consist of related Kusimanse and follow a strict hierarchal structure. Only the primary members are permitted to breed. If subordinates produce offspring, these will be killed and eaten.

Creature Feature #399: Kultarr

Keeping up the trend of adorable mammals with long hindlegs, I present the third (or fourth if you count "kangaroo") that begins with K.

The Kultarr is a tiny marsupial, related - but not closely - to the Kowari of two days ago. She makes her home in the arid interior deserts of Australia, inhabiting gibber plains and sandy deserts. Here she hunts alone, at night, for insects and other tasty invertebrates. During the day she hides away in soil cracks or burrows made by other creatures. Her long hind-legs enable her to move in hops and give her a superficial resemblance to jerboas and hopping mice.

Creature Feature #398: Kudu

The Kudu are two species of large woodland antelopes. The Greater Kudu can be found in eastern and southern Africa. Here the females form herds with their calves, whereas the bulls lead a more solitary existence. Only the male sports the long, curling horns and these are used for disputes over mating privileges. Generally the two males will lock horns and wrestle until one surrenders but on occasion they will become trapped together. If this happens they will either starve to death or be killed by a hyena or other large predator.

Creature Feature #397: Krill

Krill are tiny crustceans occuring in every ocean, worldwide. They play a critical role in the ecosystem. Krill feed on phytoplankton, and occasionally zooplankton. In turn they are preyed  upon by fish, mammals, birds, cephalopods and other arthropods. During the night they migrate towards the surface, sinking deeper into the depths during the day. More than half the population is predated each year, requiring a fast and fecund life-cycle. Climate change poses a threat to Krill populations, as can other disturbances.

Creature Feature #396: Kowari

Although it somewhat resembles the Kangaroo Rat from several weeks ago, the Kowari is not related to it (although it is related to the Kultarr I will be uploading within the next week). She is a marsupial from central Australia, where she makes her home in grasslands and deserts.  She is a voracious predator, devouring mostly insects and spiders, but also birds, rodents and reptiles.

Creature Feature #395: Kouprey

The Kouprey is a species of wild cattle, once found throughout Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos. Alas, uncontrolled hunting led the population into sharp decline and the last living specimens were seen in 1988. It is classified as critically endangered, possibly extinct. There is no captive population. In the wild, his natural habitat is forested areas. The cows form herds, led by a dominant female, and the bulls join them during the dry season.

Creature Feature #394: Kookaburra

The Kookaburra of Australia and New Guinea is one of the world's largest Kingfishers. He is noted for his raucous laughing call, which rings out with frenzied excitement as he marks the boundaries of his territory. Families tend to stay together, the young from previous broods helping to defend their home range from intruders. His habitat is versatile, and he is as likely to be found in forest, arid grasslands or urban parks. He follows a carnivorous diet, and will eat almost anything he can gobble up - from lizards, rodents, baby birds, and he is may steal koi fish from zoos and ornamental pools.

Creature Feature #393: Komodo Dragon

Reptiles are hard to draw - I always struggle with lizards, and thus I knew this fellow was going to prove to be a challenge. I wanted to do one in perspective, however, have him coming out of the page, and thus I embraced the challenge.

And succeeded, more-or-less.

Komodo Dragons are extremely large lizards, found only on a small number of Indonesian islands, including Komodo. Males can grow more than 3 m long, with females being slightly smaller. He uses his tongue to detect, taste and smell stimuli and can sense carrion from nearly 10 km away. Carrion is his preferred diet, although he is also capable of stalking and ambushing prey. It can take him some time to swallow an entire animal, and to stop him suffocating, he breathes through a small tube under his tongue.

Creature Feature #392: Kokopu

Today was mostly spent getting the dummies designed and printed for the traading card game. It's going to be a thing! How exciting! If you wish to know more, put in pre-orders or what-not, please drop me an email. Playtesting will begin next weekend if all goes well.

Consequently, today's critter almost didn't get drawn. But, here he is in his speckled brown glory - another of the New Zealand fish Galaxias tribe, the third Galaxid I've drawn.

The largest of the NZ Galaxids, this Giant Kokopu spends the majority of his life living off the coast, although some populations have become locked into freshwater streams. He is the only native fish able to withstand the trout intrusion, but even so, his numbers are declining. When the time comes to spawn, the fish swim a little-ways up the river, find themselves a nice shady bank to shelter under and do the deed. The young fry swim out to sea as part of the whitebait run. An opportunistic feeder, he dines upon invertebrate prey - both larval and terrestrial - and will take the occasional other fish, especially if he is "land-locked".

Creature Feature #391: Kodkod

The Kodkod is the smallest feline of South America, with the smallest distribution. She is only found in central and southern Chile, occasionally crossing the border into Argentina. She favours evergreen temperate forest but will venture close to settled and cultivated land. During the day, she remains under the cover of the trees hunting for birds and rodents. Whilst an excellent climber, she tends to hunt on the ground. At night she may venture out into more open areas and has been known to raid chicken coops.

Creature Feature #390: Koala

The Koala is a arboreal maruspial. His diet consists predominantly of eucalyptus leaves. These leaves have a high water content, meaning he does not have to drink often. They are not, however, provide much energy and the Koala spends up to 20 hours of his day asleep with short periods of active feeding spread throughout. He does not travel far, and will often stay in the same tree for an entire day. Asocial in nature, he does not willingly interract with others outside of the mating season. Mating is noisy and often brutal, with the female fighting off her potential suitors and the males fighting amongst themselves. She will eventually sucuumb to the most dominant.

So that's it folks, this cute and cuddly animal is in fact lethargic, viciously antisocial and prone to forcing copulation - sometimes with females who aren't even in oestrus.